Trump expected to change certification for apprenticeships

President Donald Trump is expected to sign an executive order Wednesday that would virtually eliminate oversight of government-subsidized apprenticeship programs, according to a source familiar with a draft of the plan.

The draft executive order would shift certification of federally funded apprenticeship programs from the Labor Department to grant recipients, a move that effectively would eliminate government oversight. Right now, companies that receive government funds must report certain information to the Labor Department; under Trump's plan, the companies would essentially monitor themselves, the source said.

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Trump is expected to sign the order in conjunction with a policy speech at the Labor Department Wednesday afternoon.

The president's plan would also propose more than doubling the amount allotted for for apprenticeship grants, adding $100 million to Trump's existing 2018 budget request of $90 million. The budget request represented only a one percent increase. The source — who was briefed by a colleague that reviewed a draft of the order last Friday — said the order didn't say how that funding increase would occur; it would almost certainly require approval from Congress.

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Trump has sought to make workforce development the focus for his administration this week. He traveled to Wisconsin today with his eldest daughter, Ivanka Trump, to host a roundtable on apprenticeships at Waukesha Technical College. On Wednesday he will meet with more than a dozen CEOs on the subject.